The Parrot and the Igloo

Last updated
The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial
Author David Lipsky
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Climate Change
GenreNonfiction
Publisher W. W. Norton
Publication date
July 11, 2023
Media typePrint, e-book
Pages496 pp. (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0393866704 (Hardcover)
Preceded by Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself  

The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial is the third nonfiction book by National Magazine Award-winning American writer David Lipsky. [1] The book tells the story of two parallel histories: the development of climate science and its dangerous inversion by climate deniers. It was published on July 11, 2023 by Norton. [2] The book is a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023, [3] an Amazon Best Book of 2023, [4] a New Yorker Best Book of 2023, [5] and a New York Times Editors' Choice. [6]

Contents

Theme

The book concentrates on the overall story of the people who discovered and attempted to conceal climate change: "Lipsky succinctly summarizes The Parrot and the Igloo as follows: 'The story this book tells is about the people who made our world; then the people who realized there might be a problem; then the people who lied about that problem.'” [7]

Reception

In their starred review, Kirkus Reviews called the book "captivating and disturbing": "An important book that will leave your head shaking." [8] Publishers Weekly , in its own starred review, called the work "revelatory." [9] Zoë Schlanger of The New York Times wrote, "David Lipsky spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment…Lipsky’s book is a project of maximum ambition. He retells the entire climate story, from the dawn of electricity to the dire straits of our present day [and] makes it appropriately infuriating and page turning. He says it up front: He wants this to be like a Netflix series, bingeable." [10] David Shribman of The Boston Globe called it, "An excellent, approachable primer on the science of global warming and a dizzying account of how long we have known so much about an issue that means so much." [11] Jason Mark of Sierra Magazine described the work as "This is not a book lacking in ambition. Lipsky wants to tell the whole, sprawling, messy tale of climate change: how modern technology made it all happen, how scientists figured it out, and how a network of hustlers and hucksters distracted the public from the threat before our eyes. In the end he pulls it off, delivering a propulsive read that has the snap of a screenplay. Lipsky is a major talent…My only quibble with this fantastic book is that it ends too soon." [12] Brian Koppelman on The Moment called it, "One of the best books I’ve read in a decade…I promise you this book is worth it. David Lipsky has delivered on the promise of his brilliance in this book." [13] And historian Douglas Brinkley called the work "incredible," adding "you all have to read it." On C-Span he explained, "One fear that I had, as a historian―I was worried that these climate-deniers weren't going to pay for it in history. And this book nails them." [14]

Honors

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References

  1. ↑ Miller, Stuart (11 July 2023). "We Knew About Climate Change in the '50s. Why An Author Tracked the History of Denial". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Lipsky, David (20 August 2023). "How Sun Myung Moon 'Digested the Scientists' and Fueled Climate-Change Denial". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Best Books of 2023". Publishers Weekly . 27 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Best Books of 2023". Amazon . 1 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Best Books of 2023: Our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about reads". The New Yorker . 25 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Nine New Books We Recommend This Week - The New York Times". The New York Times . 31 August 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Nathans-Kelly, Steve (11 July 2023). "The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial". THe New York Journal of Books. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "THE PARROT AND THE IGLOO: Climate and the Science of Denial". Kirkus Reviews . November 1, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Parrot And The Igloo". Publishers Weekly . October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  10. ↑ Schlanger, Zoë (10 July 2023). "A Global Warming Book for the Streaming Age: In "The Parrot and the Igloo," the novelist and journalist David Lipsky spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment". The New York Times . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ Shribman, David (July 6, 2023). "David Lipsky's 'The Parrot and the Igloo' details forces behind climate change denial". The Boston Globe . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  12. ↑ Mark, Jason (August 8, 2023). "The Usual Suspects". The Sierra Club . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  13. ↑ Koppelman, Brian (August 8, 2023). ""The Moment with Brian Koppelman" David Lipsky — 07/18/23". The Moment. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ Brinkley, Douglas (August 12, 2023). "Author Discussion on Environmental Activism and Climate Change". C-Span . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Best Books of 2023". Publishers Weekly . 27 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "Best Books of 2023". Amazon . 1 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Best Books of 2023: Our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about reads". The New Yorker . 25 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Ten Best Books of 2023". Chicago Tribune . 11 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "8 of Our Favorite 2023 Authors Recommend Gifts for Readers". Vanity Fair . 1 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "The Best Books of 2023". Open Letters Review. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Nine New Books We Recommend This Week - The New York Times". The New York Times . 31 August 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
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